I think of Huell Howser often when working on Orange Juice Blog, because based on the search results we get from the Intertubes, interest in him rarely wanes for long. After midnight on many days, before our California readership kicks in, our “top 10″ list will include some stories from the backlist that someone made their way into someone’s search engine. A fair amount of the time, one of them references Huell Howser. He seemed to fascinate people, in part for his speech and demeanor, which many took for homosexual — type in “huell howser” in google and the second option that comes up for a search is “Huell Howeser wife,” as in “does he have one?”, which is the poorly calibrated red state way of asking whether he’s gay — and in part for his gentleness, enthusiasm, and fascination for the world around him. He reminds me of my former Pittsburgh neighbor Fred Rogers, who brought a similar (though lower-key) infectious delight to children through public television.

Huell was from Tennessee — and his specialty was in finding those parts of small town California that fit the sorts of things one might find in Tennessee, or Arkansas, or Indiana, or any other state — the quirky, off-the-road things that don’t make our state stand out from the rest of the country, but that make it fit in.

One of the perennial stories that keeps skulking along in our Top 10 list at those brief minutes where 1 or 2 hits might qualify a story to be included along the bottom is a rather one-sided 2008 “discussion” with him by Larry Gilbert. [Update: I hadn’t checked the stats when I wrote and published this. Sure enough, it edged into the #1 slot yesterday after the news broke and it is far and away our top story today.] Gilbert was irritated that Huell (does anyone call him “Howser”?) had a new series coming out, California’s Communities, that was funded by the California Redevelopment Authority, and appeared likely to focus solely on redevelopment “success stories” rather than including failures. It was a fair challenge. As Gilbert recounts it:

In our discussion Huell told me he has “no political agenda” and that he “keeps politics out of it,” a reference to his multiple TV series.

Well, longtime readers of Gilbert can guess how well that played.

Of course Huell “had politics” — just as Fred Rogers did, as shown in his testimony before Congress that perennially makes the rounds of Facebook. They weren’t partisan politics; they were the politics of acceptance and inclusion and — I can’t seem to avoid this word — delight in the world around him, taken on its own terms. Yes, in a world of sarcasm and fearfulness and bitterness, that’s taking a kind of stand.

I think of Huell as being like the best kind of museum docent — knowledgeable, good-natured, accessible, and enthusiastic — who brings out much more than meets the eye from whatever one is viewing. In his case, though, his museum was the whole of California — though, especially, the more overlooked halls and exhibits. Orange County is lucky that his papers and more will be archived here at Chapman University.

A few years ago, when my stepkids came here from the Philippines, Huell Howser’s shows on KCET were some of the first ones outside of their accustomed prime time fare that they came to enjoy. One of them, I recall, was his show on old San Juan Capistrano — which allowed us to follow up the next weekend or so with our own visit there. It was on TV — and then we were there! We were in the place that had been on TV! His delight in it (and of course SJC truly is delightful) gave added meaning to what was already around us, showing that Disneyland and the beaches were not the only sorts of spots to cherish in Orange County. I hope that someone — KCET? Or would it now be KOCE? — shows a marathon of Huell’s shows soon; they’re something I’d like to record, and save, and watch together.

Hail and farewell, Huell. We’ll miss you, but you’ve also left us much to remember you by.

About Greg Diamond

Prolix worker's rights and government accountability attorney and General Counsel of CATER. His anti-corruption work in Anaheim infuriated the Building Trades and Teamsters in spring 2014, leading them to work with the Democratic Party of Orange County Chair and other co-conspirators (who had long detested the internal oversight his presence provided) to remove him from the position of DPOC North Vice Chair of in violation of party rules and any semblance of due process. He also runs for office sometimes.
Unless otherwise specifically stated, none of his writings prior to that lawless putsch ever spoke for the Democratic Party at the local, county, state, national, or galactic level. He tries to either suppress or openly acknowledge his partisan, issue, ideological, and "good government" biases in most of his writing here. If you have a question about any particular writing, just ask him about it and (unless you are an pseudonymous troll) he will probably answer you at painful length.
He lives in Beautiful Bountiful Brea, but while he may brag about it he generally doesn't blog about it. A family member works as a campaign treasurer for candidates including Wendy Gabriella in AD-73; he doesn't directly profit from that relatively small compensation and it doesn't affect his coverage. He does advise some campaigns informally and (except where noted) without compensation.

Met Huell at Martenez book store in Santa Ana after a book signing party for Gustavo, Arellano bought him to the party as a suprise guess. He was larger than life. Even Vern was there to enjoy the party.

Greg. As I posted on my Facebook page, my wife and I enjoyed travelling the back roads of CA as Huell took us ot every nook and cranny that we might otherwise would have missed. We did have a pleasant exchange as referenced by you in this post. It will be a long itme before anyone comes along to provide the entertaining coverage of our state as was the case for Howser, who I still call Huell.

Larry, I think more people may be reading your writing today than have ever done so in a single day before, so you can be proud of that. I’m glad that your opinion of him is high. So many nooks, so little time!

Huell I miss you already! I watch you every time you were on.Even if I had seen it 5 times before. I hope you knew you were California Gold. I remember during the riots in L.A. Watching all the horror on the news when in the back round I noticed Huell shouting to please please stop. I am so sad. I would have never known all I know about my own state if it were not for that sweet man. He would have been a celebrity I wish to have seen in person. Not these actors. I hope he was honored at some point of his life while he was living. For shame if no one did. I will miss you the true gentleman you were. =(

I had the incredible honor of escorting Huell for a tour of historic Anaheim back in 2008. (see below) It was one of those days that i will be retelling into my old age. He was as nice behind the scenes as he was on camera. His camera man told me Huell got approached everywhere, and was always gracious to fans, no matter how obnoxious they might get. Like he would get approached in the men’s room and his reaction would be simply, “Mind if I finish up here first?” For years now his voicemails would pop into my inbox reminding me delete it, and for all these years I have hit “9” to save. In a case of electronic karma, today his voicemail popped into the queue again, and I just choked up. What a great guy, he had this amazing ability to make you feel like the most intelligent, interesting person on earth, like he had nothing better to do than stand there with a microphone and listen to what you are passionate about. So few people can do that, and it made him the best at what he did. It was not an act, he really did care about people on that level. The world is so much less happy today without him in it.

I couldn’t believe he passed away. He was such an uplifting person. He did several programs on Orange County, about Anaheim, Orange, Modjeska Canyon. I learned a lot about places and people. I will miss him. Que En Paz Descanse.

*Huell was a “One Off Phenom”. Huell came from Tennessee and made it in the Media at a level…..it is really hard to conjure up in your mind. He filled a giant hole in our hearts as he visited every nook and cranny in California. Huell had the incredible ability to make stars of just ordinary folks. They all felt he warms philosophical embraces and wonder. Huell made us all proud to be California born, California re-planted, Californians with a sense of history and wonder.

Huell sadly had some fights with KOCE in the end. They were cheap and didn’t want to continue paying him. It comes with the territory when you have become a huge “National Icon”, with literary and media chops – demanding “Standing Room Only” at the Nixon Library and such.

It seems, they always take the good ones early. We needed you Huell….for many, many more years. Somehow it doesn’t seem fare. Huell was always so touched by things and we were touched by his sensitivity to the situation and folks attached.

God bless you Huell, you did a good thing for many years. You made us laugh and wonder and increased our knowledge of our own State. Your works will last forever. You may become the Frederick Remington of California Media.

Let’s hope that KOCE makes amends to Huell’s memory and plays his stories over and over again through the years ahead and indeed gives him credit for continuing to collect cash for Public Television.

Let’s hope the Governor issues Huell a Commendation for all his works. Let’s hope our OC Board of Supervisors does the same.

There will never be another like Huell Howser.
He absolutely left no stone unturned. From the ridiculous to the sublime.
I can’t imagine it’s possible to go anywhere in California that Huell Howser hadn’t been.

There – I finally found the Howser clip I was looking for. This comes at the end of “In Smog and Thunder” – a hilarious and bizarre animated “mockumentary,” which details, in Ken Burns parody style, an imaginary civil war between Northern and Southern California. You should all go to http://www.insmogandthunder.com and snag a copy. The whole movie’s animated, based on paintings by some freak called Sandow Birk, but it ends with this clip of Huell:

I love the lady at the end saying “What war?” Here’s a trailer for the film: